People with Parkinson’s fear going outside because of “public humiliation”, a leading charity says today.

Speaking ahead of World Parkinson’s Day, the Northern Ireland Country Director at Parkinson’s UK said a lack of understanding of the illness includes sufferers being mistaken for being drunk.

Nicola Moore added that many people believe there only a handful of symptoms associated with the condition including tremors, but that people affected that face issues ranging from hallucinations to difficulty in swallowing.

The charity many people with Parkinson’s “feel they need to hide their symptoms in public, or don’t want to go out at all due to being incorrectly judged or mocked due to a lack of understanding the condition”.

They add:

*A quarter (25 per cent) have had symptoms mistaken for drunkenness;

*11 per cent have been laughed at because of their symptoms;

*More than a third (34 per cent) feel they would be judged;

*Almost a third (32 per cent) don’t feel like their symptoms are socially acceptable.

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Nicola Moore said: “Parkinson’s is an unlucky dip with such a broad range of symptoms that impact on every area of a person’s daily life, and each person is affected differently.

“Depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, eating and swallowing along with constipation are commonplace and can make daily life a struggle. Often people with Parkinson’s will feel they have got a handle on how Parkinson’s affects them then a new symptom will emerge.

“The lack of understanding of the range of symptoms can make simply stepping out of the door feel terrifying for people with Parkinson’s, both because of how unpredictable the condition is and the added fear of public humiliation or embarrassment.”

The charity has conducted research ahead of today(WED) which that although most people are aware of visible symptoms like tremor, they have little understanding of others.

They found more than a third (37 per cent) thought there were less than ten symptoms of Parkinson’s and more than four in ten (41 per cent) thought there were less than 30.

The charity’s findings revealed that the main symptom of Parkinson’s is thought to be a tremor (64 per cent), followed by slowness of movement (14 per cent) and muscle stiffness (13 percent).

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But they added: “In fact, in a recent project carried out by the charity to identify priorities for improving everyday life, tremor came 26th on a list of what people with Parkinson’s want research to address.

“Whilst physical symptoms can also include freezing - a terrifying symptom that can cause, without warning, a person to lose the ability to move, sometimes mid-step, it is the often-hidden symptoms that people with Parkinson’s say are the most easily misunderstood by the wider public.

“Many people lose their senses of smell and taste. Some experience severe swallowing difficulties, making eating and drinking a struggle. Others experience depression and anxiety.”

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The findings come as the charity is joining forces with the 10 million strong global Parkinson’s community on World Parkinson’s Day, to highlight what Parkinson’s truly is and raise much needed public awareness and understanding of the condition, which affects 145,000 people in the UK and is projected to rise by a fifth by 2025.